Cars doing my head in

[t5_monkey]

Had the same issue.

Got the starter wheel/spigot/cog/ whatever you want to call it cleaned and regreased... no problems since.

[RDesignNE]

Originally Posted by t5_monkey

Had the same issue.

Got the starter wheel/spigot/cog/ whatever you want to call it cleaned and regreased... no problems since.

interesting, i'll have a look at that. Is that something the dealer would do?

Just got the battery and alternator checked at kwik fit and everything came back fine. Battery is at 85% capacity and alternator at 14.4v

[RDesignNE]

also, i dont know if this is just me being paranoid/coincidence , but its only ever done this on my driveway, and originally in a supermarket carpark which were both on a slope.

It does it when its nose is pointing down the slope on the driveway, but last night I reversed it on the drive so its nose was pointing up the slope instead, left it overnight and tried it this morning and it started first time. Its the first time its started first time on a morning since I got it back from volvo.

i'll be putting it back on forward again tonight to see if it does it again.

[Daim]

Just a question: does it sometimes spin but not start? I mean, does it turn the engine over and not start?

[RDesignNE]

Originally Posted by Daim

Just a question: does it sometimes spin but not start? I mean, does it turn the engine over and not start?

no it either clicks once then you have to turn the key back and try again and it starts as it normally would, or it just starts normally first time. It never struggles or splutters.

[Daim]

So it is purely a faulty starter or starting system.

If it doesn't happen in a certain direction, it could just be a loose cable...

[RDesignNE]

well i'm taking it back to volvo tomorrow so hopefully it will be third time lucky, having already had its starter motor and wiring replaced. Im just hoping as it only happens under certain conditions that they are going to manage to diagnose it and not give me it back stating no fault found.

[Grizlyadams]

dad's s60 and my old s2a 109 landy had the same issue, sounds like an earth cable issue...you could always test this when it doesnt start by getting a jump starter cable, one end on the engine block, other on the body of the car... if she starts then...replace main engine earth, this is what we did to both s60 and the 109 to check the issue.

[RDesignNE]

its back, they swapped the starter motor out again because apparently it was kicking out a fault code that the one they fitted last week was faulty. I've only had it a back one night so haven't really tested whether its fixed it this time or not.

[foggyjames]

Sorry...been away from the forums for a few days.

When it comes to the competence of Volvo dealers...assume nothing. As with all things in life, some are outstanding, while others....!

The click is, probably, the solenoid firing (as others have said). Check that the click you hear comes from the motor. It's an extra high current relay which switches the (hundreds of Amps) supply to the motor. If the solenoid is firing, then it's either a flat battery, a faulty motor, or a (high current) wiring issue....a very simply fault to trace.

If the solenoid isn't clicking, then there's a can of worms to open!

Fingers crossed the second motor does the job. I too have had "new" motors not be quite right (albeit £10 eBay re-cons for 340s), and judging by the quality of some of Volvo's recent re-con parts...!

cheers

James